Structural units for buildings



March 31, 1959 wlEGAND 2,879,557

STRUCTURAL UNITS F OR BUILDINGS Filed March 22, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 EDWARD A. W/EGAND;

INVENTOR.

HUEBNER, BEEF/L51? WORPEL 8 HERZ/G, By ATTORNEYS.

March 31, 1959 E. A. WIEGAND STRUCTURAL UNITS FOR surnames 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 22, 1956 EDWARD A. WIEGAND,

INVENTOR.

HUE8NE'P,BEEHLER,

WORREL 8 HERZ/G, By ATTORNEYS.

l l l i United States Patent 2,879,557 STRUCTURAL UNITS FOR BUILDINGS Edward A. Wiegand, North Las Vegas,'Nev. Application March 22, 1956, Serial No. 573,108 4 Claims. (Cl. 20-15) This invention relates to improved structural units, we,g. wall panels, beams, doors, etc., for buildings.

Structural units of the type to which this invention relates, when embodied, for example, as wall panels, are designed for installation in edge-abutting relationship to form a wall of a building Without requiring the construction of conventional building frames. These wall panels are complete wall sections in themselves and take the place of studs, outer sheathing and interior wall facing.

It is a general object of this invention to provide improved structural units of such design that waste lumber may be used to form the interior mass thereof. Structural units of this invention .-are characterized ,as being formed of a casing of sheet material, e.g. metal sheet, made taut around rigid filler material. The filler material may constitute strips of waste lumber, usually discarded by lumber mills. Such strips need nothave planed surfaces, but may be rough sawed. Strips from wood which has been attacked by insects or fungi may be used and for the purposes of this invention, bark need not be removed from the strips of wood constituting the filler material.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a structural unit of the above mentioned character in which the casing thereof is made taut around the filler material by wedge means within the casing. In being made taut around the filler material the casing becomes stressed tight and its inherent elasticity and tensile strength cause the casing to become a stressed skin for the unit, which substantially increases the strength and rigidity of the unit.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved wall panel having a vertically extending channel 7 formed therein for the reception of electrical lines and plumbing conduits, and having means for securing a series of wall panels together in edge to edge abutting relationhip- Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear during the following part of this specification wherein the details of construction of several embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is ,a perspective view of a wall panel constructed according to this invention, with parts of the casing thereof being cut away to expose the interior of the panel;

Figure 2 is a top view of a section of a wall of a building, such section comprising a complete wall panel secured between two like panels;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the wall section, the middle horizontally extending portion thereof being cut away in vertical section;

Figure 4 is a top view of ,a wall section, wall panels of modified form;

Figure 5 is a transverse section through the bottom portion of the wall panel of Figure 4 joined to a supporting I-beam; and

Figure 6 is a phantom view in perspective of a light comprising accommodating electrical 2,879,557 Patented Mar. 31, 1.959

2 wei ht panel embodying this invention, of the casing thereof being cut away.

Referring to the drawing in greater detail and to the referencenumerals on it, numeral 10 designates, generally, -a wall panel embodying this invention. Such panel includes a casing 11 formed of sheet material, e.g. sheet aluminum, of about 18 to 28 gage. In the illustrated embodiment the casing 11 is made up of two rectangular sheets 12 and 13 of co-extensive area. Sheet 12 is bent on a line longitudinally thereof to form an edge 14for a front face 15 of the panel and a side face 16. Sheet 13 is similarly bent to form an edge 17 between a hackface '18 and a side face 19. The face 15 is herein designatedas a front face of the panel andthe face 18 as a back face of the panel for convenience in description only, as these faces are substantially identical and either will serve as a front face or back face depending on the orientation of the panel in relation to a wall in which the panel constitutes a section.

Sheet 12 is defined by end edges 21 and 22 and side edges23and 24, while the corresponding edges of sheet 13 are numbered 25, 26, 27, and 28, respectively. The sheets are secured together along marginal portions thereof contiguous their side edges. Sheet 12 is bent along a line parallel to its side edge 24 to form a marginal portion 29 which lies flush against the inside surface of sheet 13, and sheet 13 is then bent over the marginal portion 29 in a marginal portion 30 covering the inwardly facing surface of marginal portion 29. These overlapping marginalportions of the sheets are made secure together as by spot welding, indicated at 31, thus to form battens 32 and 33, respectively, which serve to cover the cracks between adjacent wall panels in a wall formed of a series of such Wall panels.

The sheets 12 and 13 being bent and joined together as just described form the casing 11 as a hollow cylinder of substantially rectangular configuration in cross-section. (The Words cylinder and cylindrical are used in this specification and in the appended claims to define a surface as tracedby any straight line called generatrix or element moving parallel to a fixed straight line, and further to define the space bounded by any such surface and two planes cutting the elements. Thus, for example, the casing 11 constitutes a cylinder of rectangular crosssection in that the outside surface thereof is traced by a line parallel to the axis of the panel 10.) The casing is then stuifed with filler material. For load bearing structural units, as for example beams and wall panels, it is preferred that the filler material occupy substantially all of the space within the casing, while for structural units designed to be relatively light in weight and not to support loads, as for example the panel illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawing, the space within the casing may be occupied by an open frame of filler material.

For the panel 10, the filler material comprises a plurality of strips of Wood, numbered 36, 37, 38 and 39, respectively. Inasmuch as these strips of wood are covered by the casing, they need not be formed or cut from high grade lumber, and their surfaces need not be planed.

The filler material for the panel 10 also includes a channel iron 41 extending longitudinally in the casing for and plumbing conduits, which, when the panel serves as a Wall section, may extend within the panel from a ceiling to a floor.

In the illustrated embodiment, the strips of wood 36 to 39 inclusive are rectangular in cross-section and are wide enough to span the inside width of the casing. Strip .39 at one side wall of the panel, and channel 41 at the ,oppositeyside wall of the panel are made slightly narrower than the intermediate strips, e.g. strip 38, and

with portions i this has been done for the purpose of bending the front face 15 slightly inwardly at 43, and the back face 18 slightly inwardly at 44, to accommodate respective battens of the next adjacent panel. Thus when a series of panels 46, 10, and 47 are arranged in abutting relationship to form a wall section as shown in Figure 2, the batten 31' of panel 47 becomes received within the inclined portion 44 of panel 10, and the batten 32 of panel within a corresponding inclined portion of panel 47, batten 32' of panel 46 within inclined portion 43, and batten 32 of panel 10 within an inclined portion of panel 46.

For wedging the filler material tightly within the casing, each of the strips 36 and 37 has one vertical side thereof inclined with respect to an opposite side, whereby each of these strips constitutes a wedge extending from the top to the bottom of the panel. Strip 37 has a vertical side 49 in flush engagement with one side of strip 38. The opposite side 50 of strip 37 is straight and inclined with respect to side 49 whereby the lower end of strip 37, as viewed in Figures 1 and 3, is narrower than the upper end. Likewise strip 36 has an inclined side 51, the angle of inclination thereof being supplementary to that of the inclined side of strip 37, whereby the narrow end of strip 36 is directed opposite to that of the strip 37.

With the filler material contained in the casing, the wedge strips 36 and 37 are then driven, as by hammering, into the casing in the direction of their narrow ends respectively, thus expanding the casing material in opposed directions transverse to the sides 16 and 19, and bringing the front and back walls of the casing inwardly and tightly against the filler material. This wedging of the strips 36 and 37 results in expansion of the casing preferably not beyond its elastic limit or yield point, whereby the casing forms a stressed skin enclosing the filler material. The stressed casing being tight all around the filler material substantially increases the strength and rigidity of the panel and is not free to rattle, such rattling of a casing panel being known as oil canning.

After the strips 36 and 37 have been wedged into the casing they are cut off along with the strips 38 and 39 on upper and lower planes parallel to the upper and lower planes of the end edges of the casing. In the illustrated embodiment the filler material strips are shown as out even with the end edges of the casing, and it is contemplated that the filler material strips may extend outwardly of the casing, for example to allow for easy securing of molding strips along the ends of the panel. It is to be understood, too, that any number of strips may be used to constitute the filler material, and these may be placed side by side between the front and back walls of the casing, if desired, or in other arrangements as determined by the size of the lumber used for the filler material. A panel of convenient size for forming a wall is one having a length of 8 feet, a width of about 1.5 feet, and a thickness of about 2 to 6 inches, depending upon the strength desired in the building in which such panels are used.

Reference numeral 53 designates longitudinally extending grooves formed in the faces of the several strips constituting the filler material. These grooves are preferably arranged with a groove in one strip facing directly opposite to a groove in the next adjacent strip, whereby each pair of mating grooves defines longitudinally extending air spaces within the casing.

For binding a series of panels together to form a wall, each panel has one or more holes 55 formed there through extending horizontally from side face 16 to side face 19, and a cable 56 is strung through aligned holes in the series of panels so that upon tightening such cable and securing its ends, adjacent panels will be forced together tightly and secured in side face toward side face relationship, preferably employing a thingasket strip between the side faces.

Referring now to the panel shown in Figures 4 and 5 of the drawing, it is designated, generally, by reference numeral 60, and its casing by numeral 61. The casing 61 differs from casing 11 of the above described embodiment in being formed from a single sheet of metal or other suitable material instead of the two sheets 12 and 13. The marginal strips contiguous the side edges of such single sheet are joined together in a lap joint to form a batten 62 corresponding to batten 32 of panel 10. There being but a single batten for each panel, the panel is preferably arranged in a wall with its batten 62 disposed outside. For the filler material of panel 60, there are strips 36, 37', 38', 39', and a wood strip 63, the strip 63 being used in the place of channel 41. Strips 36' and 37' constitute longitudinally extending wedges which in being driven into the panel casing stress the casing 61 skin tight around the filler material.

As in the panel 10, the filler strips of the panel 60 have longitudinally extending grooves 53 formed in their surfaces, and the air spaces provided by complementary pairs of grooves in adjacent strips serve to receive tie rods 65 for bolting the panel to an I-beam 66, nuts 67 being threaded on the ends of these tie rods.

In Figure 6 there is shown a panel 70 of light weight construction, having a casing 71, stressed tight around an open frame 72 of filler material by means of wedge pieces 36" and 37". For the panel 70, the wedge pieces are not parallel to the side edges of the panel but are inclined.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in what I have conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of my invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent structures.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a structural unit, a cylindrical casing having two open ends, stiff filler material within the casing and in contact with the inside walls of the casing, said filler material comprising two elongate wedges extending substantially throughout the length of the casing, each wedge having a narrow end and a wide end, the wide end of one wedge being disposed in one end of the casing, the wide end of the other wedge being disposed in the other end of the casing, one wedge being adapted to be driven into the casing from one end of the casing and the other wedge being adapted to be driven into the casing from the other end of the casing thereby to stress the casing taut around the filler material.

2. A structural unit for a building, comprising a cylindrical casing of sheet metal having four side walls and two open ends, stiff filler material in the casing and in contact with the inside surfaces of each of two opposing side walls of the casing, said filler material comprising two elongate wedges extending from end to end of the casing, each wedge having a narrow end and a wide end, the wide end of one wedge being disposed in one end of the casing, the wide end of the other wedge being disposed in the other end of the casing, one wedge being adapted to be driven into the casing from one end of the casing and the other wedge being adapted to be driven into the casing from the other end of the casing whereby the wedges exert pressure of the filler material against the inside surfaces of each of the other two opposing side walls of the casing and stress the casing taut around the filler material.

3. A panel for forming a section of a wall of a building, comprising a cylindrical casing of sheet metal and of generally rectangular configuration in cross-section to provide four side walls and two open ends, stilf filler material filling the casing and in contact with the inside surfaces of each of two opposing side walls of the casing,

said filler material comprising a plurality of elongate strips of. lumber and two elongate wedges extending from end to end of the casing, each wedge being substantially rectangular in cross-section and having a narrow end and a Wide end, said Wedges being disposed within the casing with their narrow ends directed toward opposite ends of the casing respectively, the wedges being in flush engagement with each other, one wedge being adapted to be driven into the casing from one end of the casing and the other Wedge being adapted to be driven into the casing from the other end of the casing, the wedges exerting pressure of the filler material against the inside surfaces of each of the other two opposing side walls of the casing and stressing the casing taut around the filler material.

4. A panel according to claim 3 in which the two wedges, taken together, define a cylinder of rectangular cross-section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,416,821 Heath May 23, 1922 1,487,255 Magelssen Mar. 18, 1924 1,708,351 Auld Apr. 9, 1929 2,009,056 Schafiert July 23, 1935 2,173,025 Parker Sept. 12, 1939 2,299,614 Deutsch Oct. 20, 1942 2,301,800 Bersie Nov. 10, 1942 2,386,098 Englund Oct. 2, 1945 

